Realization
by Shado Room of Souls
Summary: Shiningpaw is perfect, though she does not realize it. Her fellow apprentices and the kits hate her while Stonestar, the Warriors, and Queens all believe she is a blessing from Starclan. Shiningpaw lies awake at night, wondering why this is so. By the time she realizes all the damage she has caused as the perfect apprentice- and Warrior- will it be too late?


**A/N:**_** So**_** sorry I haven't updated anything in a very long time. I either forgot, or wasn't in a writing mood. But now I am!**

Chapter Uno

Shiningkit calmly walked up to the clearing as her name was called by Stonestar. "Shiningkit, do you promise, in all your perfectness, to be exceptionally loyal to your Clan, Thunderclan, as you flawlessly train to become the perfect Warrior?" The white kit raised her chin confidently, pride shining in her sparkling emerald green eyes, and replied in her voice- not too deep, not too high pitched- "I do."

"Then from this moment on, you will be Shiningpaw. Your mentor will be Softmelody." The newly named Shiningpaw touched noses with her pale gray mentor. She stepped back, looking over all the cats to find Gingerstripe, her foster mother, and her mate Eaglefeather, looking straight at her, blue eyes twinkling. Then Shiningpaw looked back at the crowd, head held high, not a hair out of place on her coat, as they chanted her name. "Shiningpaw, Shiningpaw, Shiningpaw, Shiningpaw, Shiningpaw!" Everyone was saying her name like she was a blessing from Starclan- which she was- except for the other apprentices, Heartpaw, Mistpaw, and Stripepaw, and the kits, Redkit, Bluekit, and Whitekit. They just looked at her in remorse and disgust. Heartpaw's ginger coat was threatening to spike in hostility any moment, Mistpaw's pale gray one doing the same as her sister's, and though Stripepaw's tabby pelt was flat, his amber eyes gleamed with malice. The kits were similar, Redkit's obviously red pelt, and Whitekit's white one _were_ on end, and Bluekit's tiny claws, peeking out from their cover of blue-gray fur, looked ready to claw her from head to tail.

Gasping, Shiningpaw looked away, not wanting to see any more. _What's wrong with them? _She thought. _They know my past, a kit whose father died before she was kitted, and a mother who uttered a single word as her last breath. Shining…my name. Gingerstripe and Eaglefeather took me in as their own, along with Heartpaw and Mistpaw. We _grew up _together; why do they hate me so? _'You're so perfect.' _spat Heartpaw one day. Well, how is it _my _fault her parents gave me extra attention? I was an orphan, for Starclan's sake! _Shaking her head to clear the memories, Shiningpaw padded over to the apprentices den, where a nest was already made for her, and lined with the softest feathers she'd ever seen. Collapsing into it, she almost immediately fell asleep. But just before her consciousness faded into her dreams, she heard Stripepaw and Mistpaw come in.

"Great. Now the 'perfect little apprentice' gets to be with _us _for a while. I'm so thrilled." hissed Mistpaw to the dark gray tabby. Stripepaw growled as he thought of it.

"'Shiningpaw's so perfect, Shiningpaw's the best!'" he mocked. "'Hey Stripepaw, Shiningpaw's hungry for that squirrel you're about to eat; you need to give it to her. Why don't you pick something else from the barely stocked fresh-kill pile?'" With a sigh he flopped down into his nest, Mistpaw wearily doing the same. They were asleep within moments, Shiningpaw, too.

Heartpaw came in a few hours later, returning from the moonhigh patrol. As she curled up into her nest beside Shiningpaw's, no one heard her whisper as she silently cried. "Shiningpaw will always be loved more than I, the runt of the litter, the most eager to become an apprentice, the most hurt, ever will be." And with that, the ginger she-cat drifted into a slumber, her dreams dark and full of nothingness, just as she was.

**What did you think? Shiningpaw doesn't realize she's perfect, and will always be treated better, at least not yet. Originally was going to be about a Mary-Sue who Doesn't Think She's a Mary-Sue, a humorous story. As you can see, my twisted mind has morphed it into something much, much, more. Review if you want me to update!**


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